Frequently Asked Questions
How many medical clinics does
Community Outreach hold each week?
What services do the medical
clinics provide?
What is the fee per medical clinic
visit?
What
sources of revenue does Community Outreach have?
Who
is eligible to stay at Community Outreach?
What should I tell people who want
to stay at Community Outreach?
When can intake interviews occur?
What are the fees to stay at Community
Outreach?
When can clients be in the facility?
Who supports Community Outreach?
How does Community Outreach offer so many
programs considering the size of its budget?
How does Community Outreach's extreme
weather contract work?
How do Community Outreach's emergency
and transitional shelters work?
Do we serve initiators of domestic
violence at Community Outreach?
Do we serve sex offenders at
Community Outreach?
Does the therapeutic childcare center
accept children who are not staying at the shelter?
Does Community Outreach serve male
single parents with children?
What other shelter options are
there in Corvallis?
What are differences between Albany
Helping Hands and Community Outreach?
How do I volunteer for Community
Outreach?
Can I tour Community Outreach?
Community Outreach holds four clinics a week. Three of
them are in Corvallis at the Community Outreach facility and one is in
Lebanon at the County Health Department.
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What services do
the medical clinics provide?
The medical clinics provide access to medical care for
people who have no health insurance and cannot otherwise afford
healthcare. Clients with the Oregon Health Plan are referred
elsewhere.
Patients may receive exams and treatment, prescriptions, and
over-the-counter medications, radiology and lab services, referrals to
specialists, physical exams, and diabetic counseling. Patients are
primarily seen for acute care issues. Some (limited) psychiatric
services are available.
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What is the fee per
medical clinic visit?
$5 per visit is requested. If patients are unable to
pay, they are provided service at no charge.
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Community Outreach relies on the generosity of donors and
foundations for the majority of our funding. We also receive funding from
HUD, VA, Samaritan Health Services, City of Corvallis, United Way of
Benton County, and the United Way of Linn County.
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Who is eligible to stay at Community
Outreach?
Community Outreach houses men, women, and families who are
homeless and qualify via our phone screen and intake
interview. Safety is a high priority at Community Outreach.
Staff examines a prospective clients background during the phone screen
and intake interview. Clients who are violent, sex offenders, or
users of drugs or alcohol for the past five days are not
admitted. Clients with mental health issues who are not medication
compliant are not admitted. The staff ultimately bases admittance on its
ability to accommodate the needs of the current client population and the
needs of new prospective clients.
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What should I tell people who
want to stay at Community Outreach?
Call Community Outreach between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. to
schedule a phone interview. The staff person that assists you will
schedule an intake appointment for later in the day, if
appropriate.
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When can intake interviews occur?
Call 541-758-3000 to schedule a phone interview. Staff
schedules intakes during the day as needed for eligible clients. An
intake interview may take as long as an hour. Staff is limited as
to the number of intakes they can do in a day.
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What are the fees to stay at Community Outreach?
It costs $5 a day to stay at Community
Outreach. Clients without an income source are assigned a work
schedule to pay off the fees.
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When can clients be in the facility?
Emergency housing clients must leave the facility between
9:00 a.m. and noon daily and 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the
afternoon. Transitional housing clients can be in the facility all
day except for 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon. Exceptions are
during extreme weather or when a client is ill. During this time
frame, clients leave the facility to access community resources such as
the library or other appropriate services. Part of achieving self
sufficiency is establishing productive interests outside of the Community
Outreach facility.
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Who supports Community Outreach?
Community Outreach has diverse support from throughout the
community. The majority of contributions are from individuals but
Community Outreach also receives major funding from the City of
Corvallis, Samaritan Health Services, United Way of Benton County, and
United Way of Linn County.
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How does Community Outreach offer so many programs
considering the size of its budget?
Many of our employees work part-time. In addition,
Community Outreach has the support of many generous community volunteers,
especially in our medical and dental clinics. We also have regular
volunteers in our childcare center. Our volunteer coordinator is
actively recruiting volunteers for social services work, resource
development work, and other projects.
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How does Community Outreach's extreme
weather contract work?
The extreme weather contract applies when the weather is
extremely cold or inclement. Community Outreach serves nonviolent women
and family clients as part of the extreme weather contract when weather
conditions apply. Because we only screen the extreme weather
clients to ensure they are nonviolent, they stay on the first floor of
our facility on mats and bedding. This ensures the safety of the
clients in the rest of the facility.
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How do Community Outreach's emergency
and transitional shelters work?
One of the reasons we separated the emergency shelter
clients from the regular men's shelter is the e-men's shelter population
was distracting to the regular's men shelter population. The e-men's
shelter clientele is mostly looking just for shelter and food (they can
stay for 7 days every 90 days) although some may decide to go into one of
our treatment programs and end up in the transitional men's
shelter.
The transitional shelter consists of men who are working
towards a goal such as permanent housing, employment, furthering their
education, or a combination of the above. Some in our transitional
shelter are veterans who are in need of substantial help and who
stay at least several months since the Roseburg veteran's hospital
is unable to accommodate them. This is why the Eugene Veterans
Administration arranged the contract with Community Outreach. Some
of the men in the transitional shelter are obtaining alcohol
and drug treatment.
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Do we serve initiators of domestic
violence at Community Outreach?
Yes, we serve initiators of domestic violence through our
agency. To clarify, they don't meet on site. They are community
referrals where the court has ordered the batterer to attend
counseling. They attend outpatient group treatment. It is
mostly men although women can be included in their own group.
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Do we serve sex
offenders at Community Outreach?
No. We use a screening process to ensure that the
clients and staff of Community Outreach are safe.
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Does the therapeutic childcare center
accept children who are not staying at the shelter?
Yes, we do with a focus on serving low- and no-income families. Some
of the children in the center are current or former residents of the
shelter and some children come from needy families in the community.
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Does Community Outreach serve male
single parents with children?
Yes, as long as we have available space in our family
shelter, we are able to accommodate male single parents with children.
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What other shelter
options are there in Corvallis?
If you are a youth, there is Jackson Street Youth
Shelter. If you are a woman fleeing domestic violence, there is the
Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence.
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What are differences between Albany
Helping Hands and Community Outreach?
In addition to its core shelter and medical services
programs, Community Outreach focuses on helping people help
themselves. Community Outreach offers a range of treatment options
including outpatient alcohol and drug treatment, outpatient mental health
services, and domestic abuse intervention treatment.
Albany Helping Hands focuses on food and shelter. It is
a faith-based institution, does not offer the same range of comprehensive
programs, and accepts current users of alcohol and drugs.
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How do I volunteer for Community
Outreach?
We recommend that anyone wishing to volunteer either go to
the Community Outreach web site at www.communityoutreachinc.org
and select Volunteer to complete an electronic volunteer
application or visit Community Outreach and complete a paper volunteer
application.
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Can I tour Community Outreach?
Yes, please call 541-758-3000 and ask for Ron Thiesen, the
Development Director. He would be happy to arrange a tour.
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